Longmeadow's Teagan Northrup (left) and Erica Oundjian fight for the ball with East Longmeadow's Emily Stetkiewicz during a Division I semifinal Tuesday at AIC. Longmeadow won in overtime 49-45. (The Republican photo by Dave Roback)

Teagan Northrup banked in a 3-pointer with 20 seconds to go to help coach Terry Britner's scrappy bunch to a 49-45 overtime victory over favored East Longmeadow in a Western Massachusetts Division I semifinal at American International College.

“It helps everyone thinks we're the underdog because we feel we have to prove to get above and that's what we did to get a win and pull us through,” Longmeadow senior Dana Pugh said.

The sixth-seeded Lancers, which shocked West Springfield in a quarterfinal, pulled their way through to the final for the second year in a row. Longmeadow (15-7) will face Tuesday night's Amherst Regional-Holyoke winner Saturday at the Curry Hicks Cage in Amherst at 5:45.

“We knew what we were coming in to,” Longmeadow senior Jen Hurwitz said. “We kept our composure throughout the whole game, even when we got down we knew we could get back up, and that's what helped us push through.”

East Longmeadow was bigger and more athletic than Longmeadow, but the second-seeded Spartans (16-6) couldn't quite overcome 22 turnovers or the Lancers' tenacity.

“Honestly, I thought the Longmeadow girls out-worked us,” East Longmeadow coach Erik Maurer said. “They got to every single loose ball. We tried to tell the girls that's the way they play. We had to limit their second-chance opportunities because their size wasn't going to get them rebounds – it was going to be their outright hustle. I thought that was the difference in the basketball game.”

East Longmeadow held the largest lead of the game, going ahead 12-5 late in the first quarter after a jumper by Morgan Belanger. For the next nine minutes, though, the Spartans couldn't shake the turnover bug, committing 11 in the second quarter.

Erica Oundjian scored seven points in the final four minutes of the second quarter as Longmeadow held a 17-15 lead at the break.

The game stayed within two possessions throughout the second half until back-to-back baskets by Pugh and Northrup put the Lancers ahead 41-35 with less than two minutes to play.

East Longmeadow, though, kept fighting. After Nalani Walker made a free throw, Belanger converted and old-fashioned 3-point play to pull the Spartans within two, 41-39, with a minute to go. In the final 30 seconds, Longmeadow missed a layup, Dani White scored in the paint to tie the game, and then White blocked a shot with two seconds to play to force overtime.

In the extra four minute frame, Longmeadow was clinging to a one-point lead when it caught its break. With the shot clock winding down, Northrup launched a 3-pointer from the right wing. The shot banked off the glass and went in, putting the Lancers ahead 49-45. The Spartans didn't score again.

“I thought I was going to air ball it,” Northrup admitted. “There were two seconds left (on the shot clock) so I had to shoot it. When it went in, it was like 'Oh my God'. I was really excited.

“We can play well against any team if we play our game, and tonight we played our game.”

Pugh led Longmeadow with 12 points, and Oundjian added 11. Eight players scored for the Lancers.

White (15 points) and Belanger (13) – a pair of sophomores – played very well for East Longmeadow.